New figures out today are confirming Japan's image as a paradise for corporate bankruptcy lawyers, with more companies going bust in 2001 than in any year since 1984.

And with banks bowed beneath mountains of bad debt and increasingly reluctant to keep propping up their failing clients, the numbers are likely to increase.

The figures, released by leading private sector economic research firm Teikoku Databank, show that 19,441 companies went under in 2001.

While this is a 1.9% increase on 19,071 bankruptcies in 2000, the record in recent years remains 1984, when 20,841 firms went bust.

But the overall level of debt held by companies which collapsed into bankruptcy actually declined, down 32.4% from its 2000 peak to 16,210bn yen ($122bn; �85bn).

String of scalps

The first few months of this year are likely to see several more scalps added to the list.

March marks the end of the Japanese financial year, and Teikoku warned it could bring the end for more firms as their inability to clean up their books becomes clear.

The past 12 months has seen some high-profile cases, including retailers Mycal and Kotobukiya, contractors Aoki and Fujiko, and most recently customised housebuilder Shokusan Jutaku Sogo.

And in the first bank to go under in years, mid-ranked Ishikawa Bank slid into bankruptcy.

One small ray of light came in the monthly figures, which revealed that the rate fell slightly in December.

Compared with the 1,550 companies which went under in December 2000, the final month of last year saw 1,505 bankruptcies.

But the absolute number concealed the fact that those which did go bust in December were much bigger than before.

The value of their debt soared 88% to 1,560bn yen, the worst figure for December since 1997 and the second worst since World War Two.